As café culture booms, here’s our guide to some of the best spots in Mayfair and St James’s…
By Jonathan Whiley
Whether a straight-up espresso, decaf cortado or skinny cappuccino, in the UK alone – according to the British Coffee Association – we drink approximately 98 million cups of coffee per day. As café culture booms, here’s our guide to some of the best spots in Mayfair and St James’s…
Queens of Mayfair
The neighbourhood spot
Opened by sisters Grace and Victoria Sheppard in 2020, they hit the headlines in their first year by serving what was described as “the most expensive cup of coffee in the UK” at the time. The Cup of Excellence from Ethiopia was priced at £50 with only 15 servings of the rare beans, hand ground and served through a V60 filter. While there is no cup of excellence currently, relationships with suppliers such as Difference Coffee gives them access to both very rare and high-grade coffee on a daily basis with a current speciality V60 menu that includes beans such as Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (£16) and Colombian Geisha (£26). Their house blend is highly rated and more modestly priced, while their decaffeinated coffee is currently Europe’s highest grade. They serve breakfast, lunch, bottomless brunch and afternoon tea.
17 Queen Street
DUKES Bar
The espresso martini spot
The legendary watering hole – a favourite of James Bond author, Ian Fleming – may be famed for its punchy gin and vodka martinis (served ice-cold with five shots per serving), but on request, it also serves up a killer espresso martini for coffee-lovers. Invented by barman Dick Bradsell in 1980s’ Soho, the story goes that a supermodel – rumoured to be Kate Moss – asked for “something to wake me up, then fuck me up” and so the cocktail was born. Alessandro Palazzi, the renowned bar manager at DUKES, says that they will make an espresso martini on request. “It has to be freshly-made espresso, it’s very important,” he says (he uses Italian coffee). “And good premium vodka. I use Snow Queen, it’s a very clean vodka.” He adds a touch of simple sugar syrup and Kahlúa coffee liqueur – “I prefer it to Tia Maria” – then as a twist, a splash of Frangelico (a hazelnut liqueur) before shaking and serving simply in an iced glass. “We don’t put coffee beans on top – I find it cheesy!.”
35 St James's Place
Shot
The rare coffee spot
This sleek marble coffee bar on Berkeley Street serves a variety of house special coffees from Jamaican Blue Mountain to Hawaii Kona. It recently made the news for serving Britain’s most expensive cup; made from beans on the Japanese island of Okinawa, priced at a cool £265.
10A Berkeley Street
HR Higgins
The historic spot
A fixture in Mayfair for the past 82 years and counting, HR Higgins was set up in a top floor room at 43 South Molton Street (with a hand driven 7lb roaster) in 1942 by Harold Rees Higgins and his daughter, Audrey. During the Second World War, Harold would roast coffee by day and work as an air raid warden by night. After four years of providing coffee to wholesale customers, they opened their first retail shop at 42 South Molton Street in 1946 and installed a roaster in the basement. Now based in Duke Street – having relocated in 1986 – the company offers single origin coffees from around the world (whole or ground), has a coffee lounge in the basement and runs masterclasses throughout the year. Its Creole Blend, created in 1950, remains a bestseller. Tony Higgins, now 86, joined the family business as a 15-year-old in 1953 before becoming MD in 1966. While still involved, his son David took over as MD in 2004.
79 Duke Street
Nkora
The in-the-know spot
This cosy cafe on Old Burlington Street is part of a small collective of speciality coffee shops with another located on Welbeck Street in Marylebone. A neighbourhood favourite, they work with London-based Plot Roasting and serve up silky flat whites aplenty.
14 Old Burlington Street/ 69 Welbeck Street
Artesian
The innovative spot
The Langham hotel’s renowned bar Artesian recently launched an innovative new cocktail menu titled ‘Alter Ego’. It includes ‘Coffee’ – a caffeine-free twist on the espresso martini made with chicory cold brew and cocoa nib liqueur.
1C Portland Place
Marchesi
The sweet-toothed spot
A Mayfair branch of the historic Milanese pastry shop, this Mount Street favourite serves up classic Italian-style coffee and an irresistible selection of handmade pastries and cakes – including its famous Panettone and Colomba – in an elegant setting.
117 Mount Street
